About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2020)
OUR REGION Nate McCullough News Editor | 770-718-3431 | news@gainesvilletimes.com She Strnes gainesvilletimes com Sunday, March 1,2020 Sgt. Barton thankful for team’s support Hall firefighter recovering from cardiac arrest BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Hall County Fire Services Lt. Cory Pritchett took a call around 2:40 p.m. Feb. 11 from longtime friend and co worker Sgt. Jonathan Barton. Barton needed a cardiac monitor. And he needed paramedic Lt. Jona than Cannon to come. Pritchett asked what was wrong, but there was no response on the other end. “That was the worst day of my life, honestly, with the background that me and Barton have and just the emotional connection that we have,” said Pritchett, who attended rookie school with Barton. “I was in disbe lief. I couldn’t believe it was Barton, but we train for this type of event and luckily that training took over.” Barton went into cardiac arrest at the Hall County Fire Services Training Center and was rushed to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. The transport took 3 minutes and 21 seconds, Cannon said. Barton spent two weeks in the hospital before being discharged Tuesday, Feb. 25. He attended the Recruit Class 49 graduation Friday, Feb. 28, at Lanier Technical College’s Ramsey Conference Center, shaking hands and taking hugs from dozens. “I remember waking up in the hos pital and that’s it,” he said. “I don’t remember anything from that day at all. I just know what they’ve told me. ” Firefighter Chris Rexroat said he was going through the workouts with Barton that day, which included sets of stairs and calisthenics. Rexroat noticed Barton was getting sick dur ing the rounds, and he eventually sat out. Later during the day’s training, another firefighter called on Rexroat about someone going down, and he found Barton unresponsive. “The feelings were there, the emo tions were there, but something took over to just do what you were trained to do,” Rexroat said. Pritchett said multiple Hall County personnel stood at Barton’s side until he was discharged. “It’s been humbling to see how everybody has come together,” Bar ton said. His wife Jessica Barton wrote a let ter to the Hall County Fire Services that the department shared: “In the midst of something tragic something beautiful was happening. That feeling hasn’t been felt in a long time and it was thick (in) that room. I can tell you that every fireman and wife that walked through those got reassurance that if they were ever in that situation that same brotherhood stood behind them. I’ve always been one to appreciate the good that comes ■ Please see BARTON, 3C scon ROGERS I The Times Sgt. Jonathan Barton, right, is hugged by Lt. Jerry Palmer following the 49th Hall County Fire Services recruit graduation ceremony Friday, Feb. 28, at the Lanier Technical College Ramsey Conference Center. Barton is recovering from a cardiac arrest earlier this month while participating in training with the recruit class at the Hall County Fire Services Training Center off Allen Creek Road. Unlocking a door to history Photo courtesy University of North Georgia Brittany Rhodes, a University of North Georgia student, recently discovered the keys she found 17 years ago share a connection to the 1913 Leo Frank murder case. long-lost keys to 1913 Frank murder case UNG student finds BY KELSEY P0D0 kpodo@gainesvilletimes.com Brittany Rhodes, a University of North Georgia student, found a set of keys 17 years ago that unlock a piece of Georgia’s history. She didn’t learn the significance of her find until a year or two ago while doing research in a Georgia history class for her post-baccalaureate teacher certification in middle grades. In December, she shared her findings with an assistant professor at UNG, and the keys are now on display at an Atlanta museum. Rhodes, now 30, first found the keys as she was disposing of leftovers from an estate sale. A tag on the keys read, “If found return to Warden J.E. Smith, Milledgeville, GA. State Prison Farm.” Since no one wanted the keys, she decided to keep them because she had fam ily in Milledgeville. It wasn’t until she returned to UNG, that she discovered the connection to the case of Leo Frank, a man convicted in 1913 of murdering 13-year-old Mary Phagan. According to the New Georgia Encyclo pedia, Georgia Gov. John M. Slaton com muted Frank’s death sentence to life in prison with the assumption the man’s inno cence would eventually be established. But Frank was abducted from the prison farm in Milledgeville and lynched Aug. 17, 1915, in Marietta. He was pardoned in 1986 by the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles for the state’s failure to protect him and allow continued legal appeals of his conviction. ■ Please see KEYS, 3C Ga. extends local role in immigration BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com The state last week extended its par ticipation in an immigration enforce ment program that trains state and local law enforcement to perform some immi gration enforcement tasks. Gov. Brian Kemp announced the Georgia Department of Corrections will continue its participation in the program, known as 287(g), that coordi nates with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Hall County participates in 287(g), and Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch said his stance has not changed on the issue. With the 287(g) agreement in place, local law enforcement officers screen those being booked in to the Hall County Jail, checking databases for their immi gration statuses. If someone is flagged for potential removal from the U.S., an ICE detainer is placed on that person to allow the fed eral agency time to take that person into its custody. Hall is one of several counties in Geor gia with a 287(g) agreement using the jail enforcement model, and an exten sion was signed in 2019. Sheriff’s Office spokesman Derreck Booth said ICE has not given the Sher iff’s Office “any indication of its time line” on presenting a new memorandum of agreement or how long this extension would last. “As the Sheriff (Gerald Couch) said prior to the current extension in May of 2019, ‘If the terms of the current MOA do not change, I would anticipate renewing the agreement with ICE.’ The stance remains the same,” Booth wrote in an email. “If a new (memorandum of agreement) includes any changes, the sheriff will fully examine it to weigh the pros and cons prior to making any decision.” Students battle with numbers at Math Mania Students from across Hall County tested their skills in a Math Mania com petition on Saturday, Feb. 29. Schools competed at either the North Hall location at Mount Vernon Explor atory School or the South Hall location at Chesnut Mountain Creative School of Inquiry. In all, 16 schools were represented at the annual event and these were the first-place winners: Math Mania North First grade: Ryan Lund, Mount Ver non Exploratory School Second grade: Zach Garrison, Mount Vernon Exploratory School Third grade: Colton Blackburn, Lanier Elementary School Fourth grade: Ellie Tolbert, Lanier Elementary School Fifth grade: Andrew Boyd, Mount Vernon Exploratory School Math Mania South First grade: Jack Webster, Flowery Branch Elementary School Second grade: Ansley Moore, Spout Springs School of Enrichment Third grade: Jason Frydrych, Spout Springs School of Enrichment Fourth grade: Brady Clark, Spout Springs School of Enrichment Fifth grade: Jake Ledford, Flowery Branch Elementary Compiled from a Hall County Schools news release Students compete Feb. 29 in Math Mania North at Mount Vernon Exploratory School. Math Mania South was held the same day at Chestnut Mountain Creative School of Inquiry. 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